Neeraj Kumar - Appellant Versus Shanti Devi and others - Respondent

Core ratio / Key holding

Headnote

Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 - S.166 - Insurance Policy - Commencement - Contradiction between Cover Note and Schedule - Tribunal's Duty.

Issues for determination

• Whether the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal erred in deleting the Insurance Company from the array of parties without considering the contradiction between the cover note and the insurance policy schedule regarding the commencement time of the insurance?

Ratio decidendi

• Where there is a contradiction between the cover note and the schedule appended to an insurance policy regarding the effective date and time of commencement of insurance coverage, the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal must consider both documents to determine the liability of the insurance company.

Important points

• Held, the Tribunal committed an error of law by not considering the contradiction between the cover note and the insurance policy schedule regarding the effective date of insurance.
• Matter remanded to the Tribunal to decide the application for deletion of the Insurance Company from the array of respondents within three months.

Keywords